Paper waxing composition



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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAPER WAXIN G COMPOSITION George James Manson, Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada No Drawing. Application March 14, 1927, Serial No. 175,439

2 Claims. (Cl. 134-1) This invention relates to acomposition intended should contain from 25 to 30 per cent of waxy to be used to render fibre such as paper stock, material and preferably, though not necessarily, and the like, resistant to water, and relates parsuch compositions should be practically neutral ticularly tmom'msinon ctTntaining waxy na: to ordinary tests such as that with litmus. Its

5 terial in a dispersed form. pH value preferably should range from 7 to 7.3. ""IHe usual procedure in the sizing of paper pulp, Examples of such compositions are the followwith, for example, rosin size, is that of adding a ing: rosin soap or mixture of liliillfind ljqsjll soap to Example 1 the paper gulp in the beater engine and after Parts by 10 mixing thoroughly with the pulp to add a precipiweight 65 tant or coagulant; alurnbeing the material usual- 33 1y employed for such purposes.

In accordance with the present invention a 2 product is obtained from a wax such as parafiin 1 wax which contains wax particles in so fine a form Ff'division or in some peculiar form of dispersion, such that a precipitant is not necessarily required The sine ate of soda used in the above formula 22 312 38 22 of the particles of wax to the is a commercial form of syrupy consistency con- The waxy element or ingredient of the composit H g about 50 per .cent water Tms slhcate of soda syrup was mixed with 65 per cent of the tion preferably is essentially araffin wax and l L total water. The remaimng 35 per cent of the for this purpose m some cases sea e wax or other total water was used to dissolve the alum The cheap grades of paramn wax may 58 employed glue was added to the diluted silicate of soda The 25 wax preferably is p with for wax composition was prepared by first melting example solutlon of lhcate of Soda and an the wax, adding the silicate of soda solution conemulsion produced, whereupon a quan it of a tamin g the glue and agitating, finally adding the preclpl ant such as hydrt'ed and the alum solution with agitation. The temperature r of soda. By thme'dlfimmd 33 the prepared abut 30 in a dispersed form having the property aforesaid Example 2 of becoming occluded or taken up by moist fibres Parts b of wood or cellulose. 1 In some cases a rotective colloid such as a @aramn was! 5 small amount of glue caig 'g and the like, may wax 35 form an ingredien o e composition, being Worm added preferably with the silicate of soda. In um 2 75 other cases the wax may contain a small amount of oleic or stearic acid. In still other cases the Water 0- wax may 'V Incorporated with it a, varying L proportion of ve etable waxes such as candelilla or carnauba wax or an acidic mm e'r'almficfi In this a as in Example 1, the Silicate o as Montan wax or Montam'c acid. The in Eorporasoda specified is a syrup containing about 50 per tion of such Hard waxes with the paraflin wax cent of water. Inlike manner this syrupisdiluted serves to modify its melting point and to some with 65 per cent of the total water and the alum 45 extent its properties of dispersion. Y is dissolved in the remainder of the water em- The wax or mixture of waxes may be incorpo- P 376 rated with the silicate of soda by melting the e ue is d sso ved in the Silicate of soda 5 former and lacing in an agitator whereu on solution. It is desirable to add 1 or 2 per cent or i u ion of silica e 0 so a is added and the mix- B o as 0 the amOlmt of u in O er tOQ" i 59 ture morougn'ly agitated for a short time. Then preserve the latter. The waxes are melted to- 1 a precipitant, for example, a. quantity of alum gether and the silicate of soda solution containequivalent to the sodium silicate is added and aging e glue s added thereto with thorough a atation continued for an additional brief period, n, the temperature being ut F. The

whereupon the dispersed wax composition is obalum solution is then added and agitation con- 755 tained ready for use. Preferably this composition tinued for a short time. 11

The silicate of soda syrup is diluted with a part of the water and the alum is diluted with the remainder, somewhat similar to the manner set forth in Examples 1 and 2. The waxes are melted together and the silicate of soda solution is added thereto with vigorous agitation at a working temperature of 170 F. When the incorporation is thoroughly effected the alum solution is introduced. A very fine wax dispersion results.

Example 4 Parts by weight Paraffin wax 37 Quick lime 1.7 Alum 4.6 Water 56.7

The quick lime is treated with about 65 per cent of the total water and the alum is dissolved in the remaining water. The wax is melted and placed in an agitator and the milk of lime is added. After stirring vigorously for about one minute the alum solution is added and agitation continued for two minutes, when the wax composition is ready for use. As in the foregoing, it is recommended that the working temperature in the preparation of the wax composition be about 170 F.

The foregoing compositions serve to illustrate the present invention, but it should be understood that these procedures are set forth solely for illustrative purposes and that various modifications with respect to proportions, temperatures and procedure and manner of incorporation may be utilized, also that substances of an equivalent character may replace one or more of the foregoing constituents.

I prefer to dilute the wax composition (which comes from the agitator containing approximately per cent of waxy material) until it contains about 5 per cent of waxy material and add it in the diluted state to the beater through a screen of about 60 mesh. I have found that this insures a better dispersion through the stock in the beater. When using waxes containing rosin soaps and free rosin it is necessary to closely control the acidity of the stock after the size is added to assure proper coagulation of the size on the fibres, this acidity having a value corresponding to pH of about 4.5. Rosin size, furthermore, should be preferably added to stock that is slightly alkaline. I have found that when the wax composition involved in the present invention is used that the acidity of the paper stock, after said composition is added, is not at all critical, and may vary from an acidity corresponding to a pH value of 4.5 to 7, without affecting the retention of the wax by the fibre. I have also found that the wax composition can be added to the pulp if the pulp is acid, that is, corresponding to a pH value of from 5 to 6.5. In this case it is not necessary to add any further precipitant suc as a um. allows of a considerable saving of alumfThe stock being less acid increases the life of the various parts of the system such as pumps, piping and wires.

The following will serve as an illustration of the beneficial effect of the use of this wax composition:

A plant engaged in the forming of pulp articles and using standard rosin size had considerable difficulty due to the rosin adhering to the wires on the forming machines, making a product which had badly formed edges and holes. They also had trouble with their piping system and pumps on account of the acidity of the stock due to the use of the amount of alum necessary to precipitate the rosin size. In this plant when rosin size was discontinued and a wax composition made in the manner above set forth was employed, no trouble was experienced with the products sticking to the wires on the forming machine, and furthermore the production was increased at least 15 per cent, with the product being uniformly much cleaner on the edges and tougher, that is, not as brittle as previously.

As the pulp was nearly neutral to litmus when the wax size was used there would not be the expected deterioration of the pipings and pumps consequent on the procedure involved in using rosin size.

I have found that using wax composition mentioned above, a retention of the wax on the fibres of from '75 per cent to per cent, depending on the nature of the stock resulted. Moreover, any wax that is not retained on the fibre does not adhere to the felts or wires of the paper machine or forming machines, but is carried away with the white water. Wax which does not adhere to the pulp fibres must not adhere to the felt and to the wires, as this would prevent drainage of the pulp sheet and cause holes in the sheet, or spots on the surface of the sheet.

I have found that the addition of only 1 per cent of wax will give water resisting qualities satisfactory for the ordinary uses to which paper products are put, although for special purposes the amount of wax can be increased to 4 or 5 per cent. I have found that the addition of wax up to 5 per cent tends to increase the strength and to improve the rattle or stiffness. This is a surprising result as parafiin wax has been supposed to have a lubricating action on fibres and thus yield a weak limp paper. Paper containing this wax dispersion is not as susceptible to changes in atmospheric moisture, and for this reason is peculiarly adapted to use in the printing trade where it is necessary to register two or more impressions. I have found that paper containing 1 to 1 /2 per cent of wax and 1 to 2 per cent of rosin, the rosin being added as ordinary rosin size, does not lose strength when subjected to the action of a greasy material as paper does when it is only sized with the ordinary rosin size. This property makes the use of emulsion in paper for food containers and greasy articles very valuable.

when the plant aforesaid was using rosin size it was necessary for them to use fresh water in the beater and to dilute the stock before it went to the forming machines. As this water was pumped from artesian wells it was an item of considerable expense. With the wax composition the plant could be worked in a closed system, that is, the water drained from the forming machines was returned to the heaters and the makeup chests. It is possible to do this when using the wax composition because the wax therein is not critical as regards the acidity of the stock in the beater when the said composition is added and the amount of alum necessary to adjust the acidity is very small. In the particular instance cited, less than one-tenth of the alum that was used with the rosin size was used with the wax composition.

The formation of a wax dispersion composition in the manner described above, that is, adding a precipitating substance to a mixture of wax, water and an emulsifying a ent produces what may be termed a pre-set wax dispersion. Instead of forming an emulsion of wax by means of an emulsifying substance such as soap, adding this emulsion to the pulp in the heater, and then introducing a precipitant, I prefer to accomplish a part at least of the precipitation in advance of introduction of the wax dispersion or emulsion into the paper pulp stock. By employing such'a pre-set or partially pre-set wax dispersion composition, preferably containing paraffin wax as the principal waxy component, I am enabled to produce a composition having the novel property of being absorbable by paper pulp stock in large proportion, that is, the major proportion of the wax is readily taken up by the pulp, with or without the addition of additional precipitant, and the minor proportion of said dispersion composition, usually representing only from 10 to 20 per cent of the entire wax, being capable of passing through the screen, felt or other web (upon which the pulp is formed into a sheet) without fouling and obstructing said web. In this respect I believe that I have obtained a wax dispersion composition possessing qualities of great importance in the manufacture of water resisting paper, pressboard, and the like.

What I claim is:-

1. ,A wax dispersion composition comprising an emulsion of parafiin wax and sodium silicate, to which emulsion alum has been added as a chemically reacted precipitant.

2. The process of making a wax dispersion composition which comprises emulsifying paraffin wax in a solution of sodium silicate, and then adding alum thereto as a precipitant.

GEORGE JAMES MANSON. 

